Throne of Light
by Kellerella
Summary: Aelin's Early life
1. Prologue

_Somewhere at sea._

The Lord of the North stared down at her. Shining brighter than all the other constellations, as if trying to tell her that the events of her past were about to be revealed.

She sat on the deck of the ship alone. It was past midnight, and everyone but a few crew members were below deck sleeping. She was not able to sleep. To many memories of lives past were keeping her up.

All her life, she had always been able to identify the guardian of Terrasen in the night sky. It was an ever present reminder that no matter how far she ran, no matter how much time had passed, Terrasen would always own her. It was her one true home. It belonged to her as much as she belonged to it. Whenever an important point in her life had occurred, she would look up and see the stag, or catch a breath of cold air with the taste of pine, reminding her of Orynth, The City of Lights, and the Place of her birth.

Seeing the stag the day she entered Endovier had given her the strength to remember how to breathe. She was convinced that it was because she was so close to Terrasen that enabled her to survive longer than anyone else had in the salt mines without breaking.

And now, the same thing that saved her those hard months had become her new torture.

Chuckling at herself for ever thinking that she could hide from her past without it coming back to haunt her, the Lost Queen of Terrasen allowed herself to finally remember.


	2. Chapter 1: Birth

_16 Years before the Assassin and the Pirate Lord_

Pacing from one side of the drawing room to another, the Rhoe listened to the screams of his wife, Evalin, a few rooms down. She had gone into early labor, the child within impatient to leave the safety of her mother to take on the world. . Quinn, a friend of the family sat with them for support. Rhoe's Uncle Orlon sat in one of the chairs reading a book on the ancient languages.

Or at least trying to. He was having trouble concentrating with the knowledge of the danger two of his family were in.

Evalin came to Terrasen six years ago, at the age of fifteen and married Rhoe, who was twenty at the time. Over the years, respect and friendship developed, and eventually love. To their dismay, Evalin could not conceive. They were forced to resort to magic. It took an immense amount of power over the past seven months to prevent the child from miscarrying. The best healers on continent were asked to preside. Now at thirty- four weeks, the child was about to be born.

"I cannot take this for much longer" Rhoe breathed. Evalin had been in labor for over a day now.

"It shouldn't be much longer" said Orlon, "the woman who came out said the child was crowning. It goes by much quicker after that".

Sure enough, no more than five minutes later, the whole world seemed to go silent, and just as Rhoe thought the silence would never end, a soft wail could be hear from the next room.

Quinn jumped from his chair to hug and congratulate Rhoe. The new father himself stood as if frozen, watching the door, as he listened to the cry of his child and to the footsteps coming down the hall.

The door soon opened to emit one of the many tired women who attended the birth. When she saw the inhabitants of the room, she curtsied. Orlon stood and said "Rise" as he smiled, "and deliver the news".

"As you wish, my king" said the woman as she stood. "Though it was a difficult birth, both mother and child are well. My Lady asked me to not reveal the gender, for she wished to tell you herself. She is ready for you to visit."

The men filed out of the room and walked down the hall. Upon reaching the bed chamber they entered to see Evalin sitting up in bed, as people fussed around her. As people began to notice they were there, they curtsied and bowed and left the room. Rhoe rushed forward and saw that his wife was holding a bundle of light green silk, with a small nose sticking out.

Rhoe sank down on to the bed and wrapped his arms around his wife, as he peered down at his child. Two eyes ringed with gold stared back up at them. Ashryver eyes, his wife's eyes. The child had his nose but her dainty lips and cheek bones. He knew before she said it. This precious person was his daughter, a girl, a princess, and future queen.

"Aelin, Princess Aelin Ashryver Galathynius of Terrasen"


	3. Chapter: 2 Lessons

_3 ½ years later_

Aelin sat in her chair with her back pressed up against the chair. Mistress Prewette stood watching her as she tried to keep herself from squirming. She had to manage to sit still with perfect posture for five minutes. There could be no sound coming from her. No laughing, talking, or even clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth.

She hated her etiquette lessons with everything she had. One day she overheard someone use the term "bane of my existence". When her reading tutor later answered her question about the meaning, she decided that the expression suited how she felt about etiquette lessons perfectly.

It wasn't they were painful by any means. Even now, she might have been uncomfortable, but she wasn't hurt. She knew that if her parents thought that any of her tutors were using any and all extreme physical measures to teach her, they would be furious. It was just that the lessons were so boring. Learning to sit still, speak nicely, and act appropriately was hard for her. She hated to sit still, was sharp tongued, and stubborn about doing what she wanted.

Aelin much preferred her other lessons.

Reading and writing were okay. Her tutor, Mistress Sibyl, always understood when she stumbled over a word, and would always give her a piece of chocolate at the end of the lesson.

Numbers were made bearable by Master Stein, who always found a fun new way to add and subtract different things. One day it was pieces of candy, the next was horses out in the stables. One day they even went and sat on the balcony overlooking her uncle's court and counted how many nobles had their noses in the air.

Even dancing wasn't so bad. Mistress Prewett also taught that, and her partner was always her cousin Aedion. Aelin loved to dance, and it was always great fun to watch Aedion step all over himself. Dancing was one thing that Aelin was better at than him.

Finally, the small timer on the table in front of her rang out, sharp and clear. Mistress Prewette smiled, and Aelin knew that she had passed the test.

"Congratulations Princess, you actually survived not being constantly in motion" said Mistress Prewette. "I was starting to doubt you there at the end".

"Thank the Gods," Aelin muttered as she jumped out of her chair. She had started to think her head might explode. Mistress Prewette cam over to help her push the chair out of the way. Aedion, who had been sitting in the corner making faces at her, stood up and laughed.

"Don't know how you did it" he laughed.

"How could I not," Aelin laughed as well, "when you were trying your hardest to make sure I failed?"

Mistress Prewette sat a disapproving frown his way, just now realizing that Aedion had been making faces behind her back. Aedion just laughed and said, "Careful cousin, your stubbornness is showing. Besides, at least you now know you can perform under pressure. That's important. Is that not so, Mistress?"

"Yes, that is important, but we still should not try to sabotage each other. You two are both dismissed for the day".

With that, the two children took off running for the back gardens. Where only the royal family was allowed, so they could do, act, and say whatever they wanted.

And most importantly, just be children.


	4. Chapter 3: Legends

_Two Months Later_

"Wake up sweetheart." Aelin opened her eyes to see her father looming over her. She was almost four now, and knew what to expect when her father woke her up in the middle of the night. A smile bloomed across her face.

Aelin jumped out of bed and ran to her closet. There she put on a pair of shoes and grabbed a woolen cloak. It might have been late spring, but the temperature still drooped dramatically at night in the northern region.

She ran to meet her father at the door, where he took his hand in hers. These nights were her favorite times.

For an hour or so, all formalities were dropped. Her father, mother, and uncle were just her family sharing their knowledge and joy of their country with her. No guards. No fancy dresses to worry about ruining. No nobility watching their every move. It was pure bliss.

As they climbed the steps to the top of the tower, Aelin heard the voices of her mother and uncle talking. For once, they were not discussing business or politics, but people. Uncle was telling Mama a story about how Aelin's father was like when he was child. It always made Aelin laugh to think of her family being as young as she was. They each had different qualities that made them seem as if they had never been small.

As her and Father went around the curve of the stairs Uncle smiled and Mama bent down and held out her arms. Aelin ran into them. Her mother was always warm, and smelled of orchids and water.

"Good morning, my beautiful girl" Mama breathed. "I hoped you slept enough." Aelin had, gratefully. She had asked her maid to tell her whenever one of the blackouts where scheduled, so she would know when to go to bed early.

In most places in cities in Terrasen, there was a city wide black out once a month, depending on when it was deemed "appropriate". This was so one night a month, no matter where you were, you would have a few hours to look up at the sky and see the stars. The blackout was not enforced of course. Everyone just followed it anyway, if not for the fact that they wanted to see the stars themselves, then out of consideration for their neighbors who did.

On these days, it was a Galathynius tradition to gather on the last floor of the highest tower in the castle and listen to the telling of the old leends. They drank hot chocolate and watched the stars shine in the sky until they faded into a beautiful sunrise.

As her mother put her down, Aelin ran over to hug her Uncle Orlon. He kissed her on the cheek, and then she turned to her cousin. Aedion sat on the edge of the tower roof frowning. When he saw her looking at him he jumped off the edge and came to stand by her. The young princess leaned in to his, feeling his warmth surround her. She was already cold.

As they all settled down on blankets that were lain on the floor, her uncle smiled at the all,and began to speak.

"Once, long ago, there was a young man named Brannon. He was beloved by Mala the Light Bringer, and thus given the power to control the element of fire. His power was so great that he was able to call on it with the barest of thought. No one had ever seen the likes of it before, or since… ".

And he continued on. He told of Brannon in the Valg Wars, Brannon becoming king of the great nation of Terrasen, of his love for his daughter, and many of the other legends of the prestigious Galathynius family, Brannon's descendants. It was the story of them. The true one.

The young girl looked up to the stag in the sky and let out a contended sigh.


	5. Chapter 4: Beast

_2 months later_

"We're going to get in trouble" Aedion told his young cousin.

"Possibly" Aelin whispered back, "but I'll get in trouble if I have to tell Uncle that I left the book he let me borrow in the field"

"He won't be upset"

"_He _won't. _But my mother _will" Aelin parried. "And stop complaining. It's your fault I left it and you didn't have to come."

"It was not my fault. And I did have to come with you because if you get hurt or lost no one would believe that I didn't know that you planned to sneak out" Aedion murmured back. The young princess left rolled her eyes at her cousin.

The two cousins continued to slip through the pathways within the walls. They had discovered the secret passages a few months ago after Aelin read one of her ancestor's old journals. The past king had mentioned them when there was an attack on the palace and he used them to slip out of the castle and come up behind the assailants with them being none the wiser.

Aelin had left another one of those journals that day in a field they often visited on picnics. It was within a few miles of the palace in the forest, so it was considered safe to be there. After she finished eating, Aelin had taken out the journal and began to read. Aedion had eventually grown bored watching her and began throwing pieces of grass at her trying to get her attention. Her temper was eventually provoked and she grabbed one of the left over rolls and threw it at him. And thus, the battle had begun. When they finally were finished the book lay forgotten by the tree she was leaning on and she failed to pick it up when she left. It wasn't until she had seen her uncle at the evening meal and he asked what she had thought of it so far that she remembered.

She had told Aedion her plan to sneak out of the castle after lights out, if only because she wouldn't of been surprised if he snuck in her room tonight to check on her. He was four years older, but often acted like he was eighty the way he always worried about her. Honestly, she could survive through the night without his help.

They reached the end of the passage and Aelin felt for the latch that allowed a section of the wall to slide up. They then ascended a stair way, which at the end of was a wooden board. Aelin stood back while Aedion pushed on the board. Dirt rained down on him and Aelin couldn't help but laugh as it coated his clothes. He tossed her a dark look and she smirked back at him.

They climbed out of the hole and put the latch down. They would worry about covering it up later.

They were only about twenty yards away from the field where the book was left. As they started walking, Aelin couldn't help but notice how different this part of the woods was at night. The trees that always seemed to welcome her to climb on or lean against now look… foreboding. As they came upon the clearing, Aelin ran to the tree and grabbed the book that was resting on its roots,

"There. You have your book. Now let's go before your parents realize that they can't hear you snoring" Aedion said.

"I do _not _snore!"

"Yes, you do"

"Do not".

"Do too".

"Do not".

"Do…" Suddenly, the two cousins heard a scream that was more animalistic than human.

"What do you suppose that was?" Aelin asked.

"I have no idea. Let's go back before we do know…" but it was too late. Aelin had taken off toward the sound. Aedion cast his eyes heavenward, whistled to the men that had been following them without the princesses' knowledge, and then ran after her.

As the princess ran she began to see the shape of something lying on the ground. As she came upon it she that it was a bear with its stomach…torn open. And… she felt breath on the back of her neck.

She slowly turned around to see the beast standing over her. First, there was then an intense pain throughout her whole body. Second, a flash of blinding blue light. Then, nothing….

**Hey,**

**Yeah, I did just leave that with a cliff hanger… kind of. If anyone has anything they practically want to see, please comment and I'll take the suggestions to heart. To anyone who has read Heir of Fire, you should be able to get that Aelin just had her first experience with magic. I realized that I never said anything about her having magic, and I assumed her parents didn't automatically know she had magic.**

**Kellerella**


	6. Chapter 5: Afterward

"Absolutely not!" the three royals said in unison.

"But if it could help…"

"No, and that is final. We will decide what to do with this new development, but sending my niece away to Wendlyn is out of the question" her Uncle Orlon said. Aelin knew that she was supposed to be upstairs "recovering". That was where everyone thought she was. But it was near impossible to sleep when she knew that _she _was being discussed in another part of the palace. Even Aedion was allowed in the room, though he _was_ if he was forbidden to say anything.

The debate had been going on for five days now, ever since the mishap in the forest. Her memory was of the incident was vague, a jumble of blurred images. The only thing that was clear to her was that she snuck out to retrieve her uncle's book, ran into some kind of… creature, and after a searing pain and a flash of blinding blue light, she lost consciousness. She woke up with Lady Marion sitting next to her bed.

Her mother came later to tell her that the flash of light had come from her. That she apparently had the fae gift of fire, a trait from the Galathynius side of her that hadn't been seen in years. Apparently, the combination of her mother and father's bloodline had caused the trait to wake from dormancy. Along with the fire magic she apparently had the ability to shift into the form of the fae, a power not even her mother had. Aelin had yet to see this happen, but apparently the guards that were following her and Aedion, which she was still mad at Aedion for since he apparently knew all along that they were being followed but didn't think to tell her, had seen her shift when the magic first erupted. By the time they were able to get to her she was unconscious and had already shifted back.


	7. Chapter 6: Fireheart

"How was your day, sweetheart?" her father said. The family sat around the dinner table. Before her father had spoken, they had been sitting in silence.

"It was boring and torturous" Aelin looked at her uncle and saw that his eyes were reminding her that she couldn't make a statement like that without evidence, so she added, " Lady Marion tried to get me to eat fish for lunch, and then I ran out of books to read and it was pure torture because she wouldn't let me go to the library to get another one."

"So what?" her cousin asked, "You probably just re read the one you finished, or read one the other hundreds of books you have hoarded in your room," Aelin stuck her tongue out at him.

"Don't stick your tongue out at the table Aelin. It's not polite to do that right now." Her father critiqued. He was smiling though, so he wasn't really upset about it.

Her mother glared at her father "It is not polite to stick your tongue out _at all_, Rhoe. Do not encourage her. Mistress Prewette has enough trouble as it is, teaching her etiquette. You should not egg her on more."

"She's still a child, Ev. She's still allowed to be improper sometimes."

"She is going to be queen someday. She needs to learn these things now. Besides, people are already watching her."

Her uncle finally broke in, "That is enough you two. Let us move to the next subject. You know you can always borrow a book from mine or your parents' collection. Not requiring you to leave the royal apartment, I see no reason why you wouldn't be allowed to look for one there. And fish is not really that bad, young one. You just had a bad experience that one time…"

Aelin had stopped listening. Shooting through her veins was a familiar sense of dread. She did not want to be queen. She wasn't even four, and people were already were worried about every move she made. Sometimes, she wished that she could fade away to someplace where there was less pressure. Nothing was worse than being forced into ruling.

Her stomach began to ache and burn. The burning feeling began to flow through her veins until she could have sworn that she was on fire.

"Something's wrong!" her cousin's shattered through the room. Aelin tried to turn her neck enough to look at him, but it hurt too much. Her mouth filled with smoke, her teeth burned. It needed to get out, needed to get out, needed to stop.

And then she was pelted to the ground by water. It stung her skin and she heard the sizzle of steam. It suffocated the fire burning in her, and cooled her skin.

But it did not last, and her body began to reheat.

Cool hands touched her, and she smelled her mother's lavender perfume. She opened her eyes, and Evalin was peering down at her with concern, but when she spoke her voice held know softness, only firm resolve.

"You need to calm down. It will only get worse. Take a deep breath, and concentrate on something else. Anything else, as long as it's calming"

Aelin tried, she really tried to follow her mother's orders. But her skin was so hot!

Seeing her daughter struggling, Evalin tried a new tactic.

"Do you remember that time that time we held a concert in the ballroom? And how pretty the music was? What was that one song you really liked? That one that man played on the pianoforte? You went around humming it for days."

Her voice was hoarse, but she managed to choke out "River flows in You."

"That's right. Let me see it went something like…." Her mother said before she began to hum the song. Listening to the melody, Aelin began to calm down. Slowly, she became more and more aware of her surroundings. Her clothes were soaking in some places, and burned away in others. Sometime during her episode she had toppled out of the chair, and there were scorch marks surrounding her. Where her elbows he rested on the table the wood was burned away. The room was clear of people besides her and her mother, but she could Aedion struggling to get back in. And her mother's dress was scorched from where she had brushed up against her.

Guilt tightened her stomach. "I'm so sorry I ruined your dress." Evalin looked down, just now noticing the marks, and she laughed quietly.

"Don't worry about. It's small price to pay for helping my Fireheart."

Furrowing her brow, Aelin asked "Fireheart?"

"It's fitting, Evalin explained, "You've always had this burning passion in you. You care so deeply about so many things. Your stories, Terrasen, your family." Evalin stopped for a moment, and noticed that her daughter had truly calmed down, and was fully concentrating on what she was saying. " Maybe that's why you have developed this power when it has been missing from the Galathynius line for generations. They light up your heart. Your love lights up your heart."

Aelin smiled. "I like that. Fireheart."


End file.
